MIAMI -- ULM edged FIU 23-17 in overtime to spoil the Panther’s
senior night in the regular season finale at Alfonso Field in Miami on Saturday night. The
Warhawks (8-4, 6-2) had to use a 15-yard Kolton Browning touchdown pass to Brent
Leonard on their first possession of overtime to get past FIU (3-9, 2-6) after
giving up a game-tying touchdown pass with 14 seconds left in the game.

The Warhawks were led on offense by senior wide receiver Leonard, who caught 13 passes for 98 yards and the game-winning
touchdown. Browning finished the game 31 of 38 for 218 yards and the touchdown. Junior
defensive lineman Emmanuel Jefferies led the ULM defense, posting 1.5 sacks and
three tackles for loss. Sophomore place kicker Justin Manton also had a big day
for the Warhawks, nailing a 47-yard field goal and racking up 342 punting
yards.

In a losing effort, the Panthers were led by freshman
quarterback E.J. Hilliard’s 226 passing yards and two touchdowns. Junior wide receiver
Willis Wright caught two balls for 78 yards and scored the game-tying touchdown
at the end of regulation.

The contest started rather inauspiciously. After the
Warhawks forced a quick three and out on the Panther’s first possession, ULM’s offense
got the squad on the board quickly. Browning completed
passes to four different receivers before scoring on a two-yard keeper to cap
an 11 play, 51 yard drive to give the visitors an early 7-0 lead with nine
minutes left in the first quarter.

FIU running back Darian Mallary broke through the Warhawk
defense on the Panther’s next possession for a 59-yard carry to move the ball
to the ULM 12-yard line, but senior lineman Gerrand Johnson forced a fumble two
plays later that junior Isaiah Newsome pounced on to end the FIU threat.

The ULM defense and special teams continued to control
the first quarter, holding FIU scoreless through the first 29 minutes of play. Manton forced the Panthers to start drives deep in their own territory
with a trio of mammoth punts, including a career long 66-yarder to end the
quarter.

Sacks by Jefferies, Joey Gautney, and Ray Stovall helped keep the
Panther attack in check until the 1:08 mark in the second quarter. FIU’s Hilliard
found wide receiver De’Andre Jasper on an 11-yard strike to cap an 18 play,
88-yard drive to tie the game at seven. The ULM offense, dormant most of the
second quarter, returned to the field and quickly drove 44 yards to set up a career
long 47-yard field goal by Manton that
gave the Warhawks a 10-7 halftime lead.

The third quarter featured a series of punts by each team
before FIU, spurred by a 45-yard pass from Hilliard to wide receiver T.J. Lowder,
evened the score at ten on a 22-yard field goal from senior Jack Griffin with
1:58 left in the quarter. While the ULM offense continued to scuffled, the
Warhawk defense sterling play continued on the next FIU possession. Sophomore defensive
lineman Darius Lively hit Hilliard as he dropped back to throw, forcing a
fumble. Warhawk senior R.J. Young scooped
up the pigskin and rumbled 36 yards into the endzone to give ULM a 17-10 lead.

The ULM defense bent, but did not break in the fourth.
The Panthers drove down to the ULM 36-yard line to start the fourth quarter
before the Warhawk defense stiffened and forced a punt. After the teams traded punts again, ULM drove
across the 50 yard line after Browning completed first down passes to Tavarese
Maye and Je’Ron Hamm. On third and 13, with FIU out of timeouts and 28 seconds
on the clock, Browning was hit while in victory formation and the ensuing
fumble was recovered by FIU’s Josh Forney. After an incomplete pass, Hilliard
found receiver Willis Wright for a 56-yard touchdown pass down the visitors
sideline. Griffin’s point after tied the game at 17, and
forced overtime.

ULM won the toss and elected to begin overtime on
defense. The Panthers moved the ball down to the ULM seven-yard line on a
completion to Wayne Times, but a botched snap and a DaCorris Ford sack forced
FIU back to the ULM 24. The Panthers were forced to lineup for a field goal,
but Griffin’s 41-yard attempt was blocked by freshman wide receiver Tony Cook.

Browning started ULM’s possession with an 8-yard
completion to Leonard before keeping for a first down on a quarterback draw.
Browning then found Leonard on a 15-yard slant into the endzone to give the
Warhawks the win.

ULM wrapped up its regular season with eight wins, the
team’s highest total since 1993.

Head Coach Todd Berry Quotes:
Overall feeling on the game...
"I'm very excited to win eight games. You learn in thisprofession that they are not always going to be pretty. They are very resilient. I wasn't happy with some of the plays, but happy with who they are as a whole. They just refuse to lose."

On the game being a defensive struggle...
"Yes. Both teams played well defensively. Wecaught them a couple of times in the backfield with our zone blitzes, and they certainly caught usfor negative yards a couple of times. We knew this game could be all about the defense."

Did it hurt the team to be one dimensional...
"Well, we've been one-dimensional for a few weeks now, actually. They gave us a lot of pressures, especially zone pressures, and we didn'thandle it well."

Was this game uncharacteristic?..."Yes. Our offense struggled, which is uncharacteristic.Even some of the things we had to do on defense was uncharacteristic: they threw a lot ofscreens, which counters pressure from the edges, and we're a pressure team."

ULM held FIU scoreless in the first quarter of
Saturday's game - it was the fifth time this season the Warhawk defense held an
opponent scoreless in the first quarter.

With the win, ULM improves to 6-2 all-time
against FIU - the 2005 win by FIU was later vacated.

With the win, ULM improves to 3-1 in overtime
games in 2012.

Offense:

Kolton Browning's first quarter TD rush was the
fifth of the season for the junior and 16th of his career.

Brent Leonard recorded his 90th
reception of the season in the second quarter... With 97 receptions on the season
he ranks third in the Sun Belt Conference single-season record books.

Brent Leonard went over the 1,000 yard receiving
mark in the third quarter to become the first ULM receiver to post 1,000 or
more yards in a single season since Mack Vincent's 1,198 receiving yards in
2002.

Defense:

Gerrand Johnson's first quarter forced fumble
was his second career FF... Isaiah Newsome recovered the fumble - his first of
the season and third of his career.

Emanuel Jefferies' first quarter sack was the
first of the season for the junior... He added a half sack later in the game and
now 5.0 career sacks.

Ray Stovall's second quarter sack was the third
of the season (and career) for the RS-Sophomore.

Darius Lively recorded his first career solo
sack in the third quarter... He also forced his first career fumble on the play...
R.J. Young recovered the fumble and returned it 36 yards for his first career
TD.

Special
Teams:

Justin Manton's 66-yard punt in the first
quarter was a career-long for the sophomore... The 66-yard punt is also tied for
the 10th-longest punt in ULM History.

Justin Manton's 47-yard field goal in the second
quarter was a career-long - his previous long was a 43-yard FG at Iowa on Sept.
24, 2011.